High morale is one of those rather hard to define, and hard to maintain and achieve, attributes which reflects well on all involved. It involves constant striving to attain — but, like the end of the rainbow, is often tantalisingly just out of reach. The harder you try, the more elusive it is.
A workplace with high morale is one with free communication, honesty, positivity and enthusiasm, in which employees look out for each other rather than themselves. That collective drive, sense of purpose and belief in the job at hand leads to better results and widespread confidence.
Sadly, some people never get the chance to work in such a constructive and buoyant environment. It is all a matter of personality types in the office.
Keeping morale high among employees is one of the biggest challenges for management. Unfortunately, once morale starts to slip, and trust is lost, it is very difficult to stop its ongoing erosion.
Ensuring channels of communication remain open is the key. Which makes it all the more upsetting to hear that an academic department at the University of Otago which is all about clear communication has been having trouble with morale.
In a staff survey two years ago, the marketing department in the university’s business school reported low morale, bullying and racism. A meeting in August last year to address the issues again highlighted poor morale, with the department’s management team considering asking a senior pro-vice-chancellor to be a facilitator.
Marketing department staff are understandably upset at the state of affairs. The 2023 survey showed 46% of respondents reported bullying of, and by, staff, while 31% had experienced discrimination.
It seems particularly saddening, given the department’s web page talks about its diversity, with staff from more than a dozen nationalities and a broad departmental mix of professional and international experience. The site also refers to marketing as understanding what influences decision-making and how people are motivated, and the importance of good communication.
The minutes of last August’s meeting show senior lecturer Dr John Williams wondered if the survey results reflected the downsizing of the department in recent years. Senior lecturer Dr Mathew Parackal was concerned at the churn of junior staff and said the environment which created such a reaction needed fixing.
Other points were raised about racial abuse inside the department, staff not feeling safe or listened to, and a strained relationship with senior university leadership.
The university’s acting human resources director, Carolyn King, told the ODT this week the survey was taken when the institution was dealing with a large financial deficit, and there were redundancies and restructurings.
Universities are establishments of learning, and academic departments should be where the rubber hits the road. Their highly qualified staff should be exemplars for the next generations of how to do things right.
We hope positive changes are being made in a department whose research is based on good communication, so it cannot in future be viewed as a case of "do as I say, not do as I do".
Answers for Lawson
Even Kiwis not remotely interested in motorsport cannot fail to have heard that our 23-year-old Liam Lawson was dropped by Red Bull after recent races in Australia and China.
It all seemed very unfair that the talented driver was not given more of a chance by a Formula 1 team known for being uncompromising in a very cut-throat sport.
Why did they not stick with Lawson? How can he build up his confidence now? Was the Red Bull car almost impossible to drive anyway? These and other questions quickly welled up.
Good news then that Red Bull chief Christian Horner has finally fronted up to explain there were worries about Lawson’s mental state, while admitting the cruel-to-be-kind move was "horrible".
Horner also said the door from the Racing Bulls back to the top team for Lawson remains open.
